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Friday, June 25, 2010

On mornings like we have been having in New York this week (namely hot, muggy, sticky ones, where taking my dog around the block at 8:30am makes me feel like I took a dip in a swimming pool filled with sweat), I wake up jonesing for iced coffee. And like any true addict, I am in a total fog and can think of little else until I get my fix. Nothing works quite as well to simultaneously cut the heat and break me out of my dazed lethargy as a chilled cuppa joe.

But here's where I go on my Jerry Seinfeld-style rant. Have you ever noticed that iced coffee costs more than hot coffee, but you get less of it? And if you try to savor it and make it last at all, the ice melts, and leaves it watery and unappetizing. What's up with that?

Recently, as I disappointedly poked my straw between cubes in order to slurp up the last remaining droplets of precious coffee, I had an epiphany the likes of which a person can only expect a few times in one's lifetime. And it was this: What if the ice cubes were made out of coffee? I know- it sends chills up your spine, right? Your drink would never get watery, and when the ice melted, you would just have MORE iced coffee. (Note to Starbucks: I am available for a high-paying consulting job.) Simply make yourself a double batch of coffee, mix it up just how you like it (with the soy milk and the Splenda, and whatnot), and then pour half of it into an ice tray and freeze it for tomorrow.

Furthermore, this idea is applicable to other beverages as well! Imagine: Arnold Palmer cubes. Or olive juice cubes that make your dirty martini dirtier as the night wears on. The possibilities are limitless.

I love the idea. Why do we have to spend more money for less coffee and more frozen water! They always want to fill your cup half full of ice. Half! (Note: I don't use Splenda anymore. Studies have linked it to causing cancer. I use Stevia. I like the taste and its all natural!!!)

I had an ice cube idea. I'm always cooking things that need chicken stock, broth, or boullion cubes in it. I wanted to find a healthier or natural way to add the flavor but without the perservatives and MSG in it. I bought a different set of ice cube trays (a different color than the other I had)and filled with the broth I had from making my homemade chicken soup! Also if you want to have the broth without the fat, always place the broth in the refrigerator until the fat hardens on the top, then remove the fat off the top and presto...lowfat broth ice cubes!